All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye
by PlayTheGame
Summary: "Just when I had you off my head…your voice comes thrashing wildly through my quiet bed…why you wanna break my heart again…why am I gonna let you try…when all we ever do is say goodbye…" Paul and Stephanie have been playing the same sordid game for far too long. Eventually somethings got to give... Triple H/Stephanie featuring Shane. AU
1. Chapter 1

**_"_** ** _Just when I had you off my head…your voice comes thrashing wildly through my quiet bed…why you wanna break my heart again…why am I gonna let you try…when all we ever do is say goodbye…"_**

* * *

 _"_ _What time is your flight?"_

 _Stephanie glanced over her shoulder as she fiddled with the buttons of her blouse. The soft satin material easily glided along her sweaty hands. The digital clock on his nightstand read 4:57 in luminous green. It was so bright it made her eyes squint. "Seven."_

 _Paul absently scratched his bare abdomen. His eyes followed her every movement, watching as she walked from the edge of the bed in search of her panties. If he looked away just before she bent over it would be better for both of them. But he couldn't. He watched shamelessly, letting his eyes run over her backside as she scooped the lacy garment off his bedroom floor. Far too quickly she was covered up in the tight charcoal skirt he had been so desperate to get off._

 _This was new for him. Usually he was the one picking his clothes up off the floor. Stephanie didn't frequent Boston that often but he had business in New York every now and then. And every time he did she was the first person he called. This time she was in his neck of the woods for a quick business trip and the inevitable happened. He tried to ignore the fact that she didn't actually tell him she was coming. It had been Shane who let slip that she would be visiting on business. When he questioned her about it she played it off, acting like she just never got around to telling him but Paul knew better. He knew her. This little game of theirs had been going on for too long, they had known each other for too long, and he saw right through her._

 _"_ _I'll be in New York in a couple of weeks."_

 _Paul sat up against the headboard, his legs shuffling under the messy navy sheets. Why was she being like this? A few hours ago he couldn't get her off him and now she could barely look his direction. "Steph?"_

 _She took a deep breath and momentarily closed her eyes. Every time this happened it was harder and harder to say goodbye. It always started out playful, flirty. Then it got heated and heavy with desire until it reached the point of desperation. Nobody ever fucked her like he did. It's why they always went running to each other the second either of them were within touching distance. In the beginning it was just incredible sex. The more it happened the more she realized that maybe it was more than that. They barely lasted two drinks these days before mauling each other in the back of a cab on the way to a bedroom. But she dare not think about it because deep down she wasn't ready to admit to herself what it meant._

 _Her body shivered at the feel of his warm fingers running along her arm. She could feel him moving behind her, feel the heat of his body as he kneeled behind her on the bed. "Yeah?" she whispered in spite of herself._

 _"_ _I'm coming to New York in a couple of weeks." Paul chewed on his lip for a moment. She hadn't even left yet and he already missed her. Fuck._

 _Stephanie's eyes glanced at the clock once more and she finally found the resolve she needed. If she didn't hurry up and get the hell out of there she would miss her flight and end up back in his bed. With a falseness that surprised her, she quickly turned around and gave him all the makings of a flirty, seductive smirk. "I look forward to it. You have my number Paul and I know you're not afraid to use it."_

 _He simply stared at her. Unsure what to make of her sudden chirpy attitude. But there was no point making something out of nothing, especially when she was about to walk out the door. With a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, he nodded his head and let go of her arm. "I'll give you a call a few days out."_

 _She had no time to react to the lingering kiss he laid on her, not that she minded. Her inability to resist his lips was the reason they were in this mess in the first place. It didn't matter that he was in Boston and she in New York. She just had to have him. It was as simple as that…at least that's what she told herself._

 _"_ _Thanks for tonight. You sure know how to show a lady a good time."_

 _Her tone was light and playful and Paul could only watch as she straightened herself up and tapped at her phone. It buzzed signaling her Uber cab was on its way. "You want me to walk you down?"_

 _"_ _I'll be fine. It'll be here in two minutes anyway. Go back to bed." She grabbed his chin and promptly pie faced him backwards, admittedly enjoying the view of his still naked body entangled in the sheets._

 _Paul grinned and offered a wink. It seemed neither of them were willing to let things get overly serious between them. Maybe it was better this way. "Have a good flight. Let me know you make it. And tell your dumbass brother I'll be seeing him soon."_

 _Her soft laughter carried through the apartment until the door quietly slammed shut. There was deadly silence as he flopped back into the pillows and grasped his head with both hands. What the fuck was wrong with him anyway? They had gone through this routine a million times. Why was tonight any different? 'Because you miss her' the little voice in the back of his head chimed in but Paul quickly pushed it away._

 _No._

 _It was just sex. Not-so casual sex between two long time friends who enjoyed the others company between the sheets. He was best friends with her brother for fuck sake. It couldn't be anything else. But if there was nothing to it then why did it create an ache in his chest every time they said goodbye? With a frustrated sigh, Paul punched the pillow and tried to push all thoughts of Stephanie McMahon out of his head._

* * *

 **New York City - 6 Months Later**

"I still can't believe this is really happening."

"What? You didn't think your brother would ever get married?"

"No…I never thought you'd trick Marissa into saying yes."

Marissa laughed as her soon to be husband grabbed his sister and playfully pulled her into a headlock.

"Shane! SHANE! Let me go….you're ruining my hair! Let…GO!"

"Alright! Shit, you didn't have to bite me Steph! Fuck."

Stephanie glared at her brother and made an attempt to fix her mussed up hair. "It took me almost an hour to get my hair like this."

"Stephanie's right," Marissa interjected. The two women had sat together while getting pampered and beautified for the rehearsal dinner. "If you tried that on me right now you'd lose your hands."

"Alright, alright! No headlocks…at least not today."

"Not _ever_ ," Stephanie corrected. She wasn't really annoyed but he didn't have to know that. Besides, tonight was the rehearsal dinner and after that it was all systems go. These were her few remaining hours to be a jerk to him before he could claim his wedding as a reason for everybody to be nice. His big brown eyes met hers and they both laughed.

No matter how old they got Shane hoped he never lost the playful relationship he had with his sister. It made him burst with happiness to see Stephanie and Marissa share a similar relationship. After all, by the end of the week they were going to be family. He playfully bumped Stephanie's shoulder and let his eyes travel across the grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria. It was empty for now, except for the staff busy running around making the finishing touches. In a few hours the place would be packed with their closest family and friends. He couldn't wait. After tonight the next time they came here would be as man and wife.

A small commotion at the double doored entry way caused three sets of eyes to turn and look in confusion. Shane quickly got to his feet and walked across from his seated position on the stage, fully prepared to tell whoever it was to go to hell when his face broke into a massive grin. "Paul! Holy shit man, you made it!"

"Told you I knew the groom!" Paul couldn't resist a parting shot to the rude staff member who refused to let him in. But he quickly ignored the guy to embrace his friend. "And I told you I was coming. Did you really think I'd miss your wedding?"

"You know better, asshole."

Paul grinned. "So where is the lovely Marissa….ah….there she is….and look who's with her." He tried to keep his eyes on the bride to be but it was hopeless. The second he saw Stephanie sitting there he was gone. She smiled at him, that wicked little smile she only ever seemed to use with him. Before he had a chance to react Shane grabbed his arm tightly.

"Play nice."

"I always play nice with Steph."

"That's the problem," Shane muttered to himself as his best friend walked on to greet his fiancee and sister. He loved them both dearly, loved their company both separately and together. But with the latter…they were trouble. He didn't know what one was the match and what one the gasoline, he just knew that every time they were around each other, there was fire. Best friend and sister or not, all he could do was hope that their bullshit cat and mouse game wouldn't ruin his wedding.

Credit to John Mayer for the lyrics and title.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - Look at me updating and stuff. Quite proud of myself really. Anyways, here is the next installment of this weird story that won't leave me alone. I hope you're all enjoying it...anybody who hasn't given up on me and still reads my stuff that is lol!**

* * *

A myriad of flashing lights danced across his face as he shuffled closer. Stephanie couldn't stop herself from moving towards him. They had started at a respectable distance but the longer the night wore on, the more alcohol consumed…the closer they got. Besides, there was no point acting like this wasn't going to happen. Every time they were in the same place they just couldn't seem to stay away from each other.

A new song blared through the speakers, causing a brief cheer to erupt from the dance floor. Stephanie felt it in her chest, the loud thumping causing her heart to beat a little bit faster. Or was that him? She didn't want to give that thought any time to fester in her brain. Instead she ignored everything her head was telling her and acted on impulse. When his knee bumped against hers she gave up fighting the contact they were both desperate for and sidled right up next to him.

Paul's eyes narrowed as a slow smile spread across his lips. The rehearsal dinner had been fun and he was genuinely looking forward to the wedding. Shane had been his best friend since college and even though they lived in different cities, their friendship had remained as strong as it ever was. And very soon that was all set to change anyway. Regardless, he wouldn't have missed this for the world. But a tiny part of him had to admit that the reason he was so excited about the wedding was the chance to spend practically an entire week with Stephanie. He hadn't seen her in so long. Six months to be exact. Their last time together had been…well, it had been the same as it always was. Afterwards he felt like things were on the brink of changing, or at least they could have been. But neither of them forced it. And now it was like nothing had ever happened. Things were more playful than ever and Paul couldn't but wonder if she even remembered what they didn't say to each other all those months ago. The words had been on the tip of his tongue but as usual, they didn't come out.

Their relationship was…complicated to say the least and Paul knew Shane hated the on again-off again way that they operated. But he didn't really know what else they were supposed to do. Stephanie was fun. She always had been and they always got on well. When things escalated to something more he saw no reason to stop it. They both enjoyed the sex and it was harmless, at least that's what he had to keep telling himself. He always knew that any time he was visiting in New York he could count on Steph for a good time and vice versa. That's all it could ever be and that's also why she had practically ignored the rest of the wedding party the entire night. Everybody else was huddled around the two high standing tables they had managed to snag in the upscale Midtown Bar. Meanwhile they were pressed together on a giant red velvet lounge chair adjacent to the tables.

"Can you believe Shano is getting married?"

Stephanie shook her head in disbelief. "I know you guys are 'bros' and everything but he is my actual brother and it's super weird to think of him as a married man."

"You know what I've always found weird?" Paul turned further in his seat and let his fingers trickle across her knee.

"What?"

If his actions phased her she didn't show it.

"On your honeymoon pretty much everybody you've ever known…knows that you're having sex."

He found her little snort of laughter adorable and let his thumb trace slow deliberate circles around her kneecap. This time she did react. Her bright blue eyes, now with a darker hue, narrowed ever so slightly. He felt her shuffle against him, moving closer.

"You know what I think?"

"Hmmm?"

"I think….two things actually…one, let's not talk about my brother having sex and two, are you seeing anybody right now?"

Stephanie thoroughly enjoyed the way his hand faltered in its movements. This was it, she knew it. The game had already started; the flirty, innocent banter that turned not-so-innocent in a hurry and led to only one place. She didn't even try to deny how badly she wanted to go there. Paul was always incredible in the sack. It's why she continued their cat and mouse game every time he came to New York. Truth be told, she enjoyed it. She also enjoyed the momentary anxious look on his face at her question. "Are you?"

"No."

"You know it wouldn't matter if you were, right?"

"I know," Paul grinned as he recalled that time at the McMahon Family Christmas Party last year. They had both attended with dates yet inevitably ended up together in an upstairs bathroom away from the crowds of well wishers. "But I'm not. I was and….well, I'm not anymore."

"Just checking."

A bemused smirk tugged at his lips. "Why?"

"So I can do this…"

She had waited long enough. Stephanie pulled his face the short distance needed to capture his lips in a slow kiss. Paul responded immediately and let his hand stroke higher up her thigh until he was practically grabbing her ass under her dress. Her loud moan was swallowed into his mouth. They got comfortable on the huge plush chair, completely oblivious to their surroundings. They kissed with a hunger not unlike that of their previous encounters.

Shane laughed at the joke one of Marissa's bridesmaids finished telling and absently glanced around the room as his head threw back. When he spotted the image of his sister and best friend making out like horny fucking teenagers just a few feet away his stomach almost lurched. He had sensed this would happen throughout the entire dinner earlier tonight. Who was he kidding? He knew it would happen from the second Paul turned up from Boston. They just couldn't seem to stay away from each other no matter the circumstances. But he at least thought they'd have the decency to wait until they were alone before jumping each others bones. Obviously not.

"Don't let it bother you."

Marissa's soft voice and the feel of her hand on his arm did little to quell his anger. Shane sighed and rolled his eyes. "You know how this goes, Riss. And they're partners for the ceremony too. I won't let them fuck this up for us."

"They won't."

Shane scoffed. "They think they can fuck around and neither of them gets hurt but its clear that feelings are involved. It's going to get messy. It _always_ gets messy."

"Shane…we're getting married. So long as they do what they're supposed to do I really don't care. You shouldn't either. Paul and Stephanie are adults. They can handle their own problems."

A forced smile was all that he could manage because Shane knew that when it came to each other, neither his sister or his buddy could handle shit. He turned to glare at them, needing to express his disapproval even if they couldn't see it but it was too late. They were already gone.

"Here we go," he muttered to himself.

* * *

It was early when Stephanie woke the next morning. She stretched languidly, enjoying the pull and slight pain of her tired muscles as they contracted, then released the tightness away. Next to her Paul still lay sleeping. She let herself take a moment just to look at him. In the small hours of the morning with everything else stripped away he looked…

No.

He looked the same. He was still the same Paul Levesque she had always known. Her brother's best friend with the gorgeous smile and amazing eyes.

Outside the city was waking up. Five am. Shane had his final tux fitting at nine and insisted that she be there. With a quiet sigh, Stephanie slowly eased herself out of bed, foregoing the sheet, and started collecting her clothes off the floor.

Thong.

Bra.

Dress.

Going outside at this time of the morning wearing an outfit like that was sure to mark her as taking the dreaded walk of shame. Although she had nothing to be ashamed of. Maybe if she did she wouldn't always end up in Paul's bed. Her nimble fingers studied the tiny scrap of lacy black material in her hand. How in the hell had that ended up next to the window anyway?

Her eyes drifted outside the wall to ceiling windows as she got dressed. At twenty-seven floors up there was no need to worry about somebody seeing her. On the streets below she could just about make out the teeny tiny figures moving around. Yellow blobs for cabs. Black blobs for everything else. She couldn't even remember agreeing to come to his hotel room. Then again, she had been very preoccupied with ramming her tongue down his throat in the back of the taxi. Clearly he had given directions at some stage of their journey.

Absently she began to run a timeline through her head. It was just after five. They were staying close to the Park. She needed to get to her apartment on the Upper East Side, shower, change, eat breakfast and then make it all the way downtown for the fitting. Technically she could just go from here but there was absolutely no way she was showing up looking like this in front of Shane. He already lectured her way too much about her 'relationship' with his best friend and she wasn't in the mood for hearing another one, especially not after last night.

The bed let out a gentle squeak when she sat down on the edge. A tall black heel dangled from her fingers. With a sudden drop it fell back to the carpeted floor with a quiet thud. Stephanie jumped at the feel of his hands wrapping around her waist. She stared at the shoe that had just fallen from her grasp, willing herself to ignore the butterflies currently fluttering in her stomach.

"Come back to bed."

His voice was rough. It made the hairs on the back of her neck spring to life. She slowly shut her eyes as he wrapped himself around her, enveloping her in his arms and burying his face in her neck. "Paul…"

"Come back to bed," he repeated, beginning to place gentle kisses to her shoulder.

For a moment Stephanie let herself get lost. His lips were addictive; the softness mixed with the scruff of his beard never failed to create the perfect sensation against her own, or her skin. He tried to pull her back down and that's when she stopped him. They couldn't. She'd never make it on time if they started having sex again. "Paul…stop….I have to go."

"Where are you going?" Suddenly Paul pulled up short. He sat back against the pillows with a frustrated sigh and rubbed at his face.

"Shane has the final fitting for his tux at nine. I need to get back to my place and get ready to meet him."

"Oh." He simply grinned.

"What?"

"It seems we're both headed to the same place then."

"You're coming to the fitting too?"

Paul nodded. "All the tailor has are my measurements. I haven't actually been fitted personally yet. They're going to do it this morning and rush any alterations so its ready for the wedding."

"Oh." She repeated his words from earlier, only the tone was less smug and more bemused. "Well I still need to go back to my place…"

"I'll come with you."

"Really?"

All she could do was sit there and stare as he got out of bed and walked to his suitcase. His relaxed attitude was annoying her for some reason.

As he rummaged through his case for some fresh boxers, he called over his shoulder, completely unaware of the confused expression on her face. "Yeah. We'll go to your place so you can get ready and head to the fitting together."

"Right."

"Maybe we can grab some breakfast too. I'm fucking starving."

Suddenly he was standing in front of her. Stephanie couldn't help but respond to the silly grin on his face.

"You made me work up quite the appetite last night." His eyes slid shut as he leaned down and captured her lips in a slow tender kiss. "Give me five minutes in the shower. Then we can go. Ok?"

Stephanie mumbled her reply, still stuck in utter confusion at the way he was acting. Was it really all that strange? The truth was, neither of them had ever stuck around the morning after. There was no precedent here. She didn't know what way to act or how to be.

Not with him.

He was Paul. He was her one night of no strings fun that swept in every few months, fucked her senseless and somehow managed to keep her sated until the next time.

 _Liar_.

She clenched her eyes shut. What the hell was wrong with her? Why was this different from any other time? They fucked and now it was the next day? Big deal. She couldn't understand why it had her so rattled. It didn't mean anything.

The sound of running water reminded her that he was in the bathroom, standing naked under the jets of hot water. A dull ache throbbed between her legs but she immediately shut it down. There was no time to stand there thinking about him in the shower. They needed to go. Out of nowhere he appeared wearing a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt. The clean smell of him drifted across the room and she almost lost it. He smelled so good. He _felt_ so good.

Fuck.

"Ready?" Paul smiled as he pulled on his shoes. She was standing there almost in a daze. "Steph?" With both boots securely on his feet, he moved to stand next to her and took her hand without thinking.

Stephanie stared down at their joined hands and felt her chest grow tight. What was he doing?

"Steph…are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm….let's go!" She squeezed his hand and forced a smile to reach her eyes.

Hand in hand they stepped out of the hotel room. Paul had no idea what the hell he was doing. Stephanie had no idea what the hell he was doing. And so they walked, equally as confused as the other…but neither of them let go.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Guess who? Yep. I'm currently sick and this is the result. I don't blame any of you who might have given up on me but I am still here, kicking around when the moment strikes! Enjoy...**

* * *

 _"This place is so amazing, Steph. I know you told me it was a mansion and everything but still. It's great."_

 _Stephanie smiled at Greg absently. He was blathering on about how incredible her parents place was and yeah, she had to agree, especially when it was all spruced up for her family's annual Christmas party. But as much as she wanted to stand there and soak in the praise, at this particular moment in time, she didn't give a damn._

 _Greg Richmond took a small sip of his eggnog and quietly observed his girlfriend. They had been dating for a little over five months and everything had been going so great. Stephanie was wonderful company when they went out for dinner or just plain out. He loved spending time with her. But he wasn't immune to the fact that every so often it seemed like she just completely drifted away. Like her mind was somewhere else. The last time he picked up on it had been at her brother's birthday party two months ago. They had only been together for around a month at that stage but he knew enough about her to know that she wasn't all there. After growing distant towards the end of the evening she had told him she wasn't feeling great and left the party early. He really hoped that didn't mean that she wasn't feeling unwell tonight. "Are you ok?"_

 _At the feel of his hand gently squeezing her arm Stephanie looked up. She smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "I'm fine. Why? Are you ok?"_

 _"Yeah! You just…seem a bit…distracted is all. I was thinking about your brother's party and how you were feeling ill and just…you don't feel ill or anything, right?"_

 _A low chuckle was her response as she gave him another kiss, this one longer than the first. "I promise, I'm fine. These parties have a tendency to get a little crazy. I guess I'm just waiting for the madness to beg…" She trailed off at the sudden interruption of her cell phone. She slipped it out of her clutch and tried to control her breathing when his name flashed on the screen._

 _"Please don't tell me that's work." Greg barely contained his sigh as he watched her read the email or message or whatever the hell it was. How could it be work when every Executive in her damn company was here? It was subtle but he sensed a shift in her demeanor as she typed a response and popped the phone back in her bag. "Everything ok?"_

 _"Yes," Stephanie huffed. God, he really needed to stop asking her that. "Everything's fine. I'm fine. You're fine. The party is great! Just relax, ok? Have fun."_

 _He was about to tell her that he'd be having much more fun if she wasn't spending all her time glancing around the room than talking to him but he held it in. They were at a fucking party. The last thing he wanted was a fight over nothing. Her phone chimed again and he just stood there watching. Her eyes lit up and he swore he noticed a flicker of…something, underneath that incredible bright blue. She cleared her throat and put the phone away once more._

 _"I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." Another quick peck and she was gone._

 _Stephanie didn't bother to look back at Greg as she anxiously weaved her way through the throng of people milling around. She headed for the kitchen and came out a separate door on the other side. This section of the house wasn't occupied and she knew she'd be able to get up the stairs without being seen. With every step her heart thumped louder in her chest. She licked her lips and ran a hand through her hair, shaking the curls in an attempt to give a quick lift. Her eyes sparkled when she spied the door she was looking for. Her slender hand reached out to push it open and without warning she felt herself almost shoved inside. She let out a quiet yelp that quickly turned into a heady moan when she was pulled back against an all too familiar body. His hands were on her breasts, her hips, her neck and the amused chuckle that rumbled against her throat indicated he was rather pleased with his little attack._

 _"Fancy meeting you here," Paul murmured into her ear right before he sucked the lobe into his mouth. He had been waiting for this all damn night and couldn't keep his hands to himself any longer._

 _"Mmmmm," Stephanie moaned, an amused little chuckle of her own escaping. She let his hands wander for a few seconds more before turning in his arms and looping her own around his neck. Twinkling hazel eyes were staring back at her. He had a stupid yet sexy grin on his face and her stomach pooled. They should be hurrying this along, rushing to get back downstairs but she couldn't help herself. She stroked the sides of his face and dropped on hand to run down his chest. He looked so fucking hot in his tux and she was a complete and utter mess. "You know…" Her voice trailed off while her hand settled over the buckle of his belt. "I have a perfectly good bedroom we could be putting to use right now instead of…this."_

 _Paul smirked and stared at her lips. He was aching to kiss her but had no problem prolonging things for some verbal foreplay first, especially because he knew how much she liked it. "I know," he nodded. And he did. He had thought about it and then reconsidered. This needed to be fast considering there was a whole fucking party full of people downstairs, including his date for the night and her stupid boyfriend. If they went to her room there was no way they'd be able to leave. That's why he had suggested the bathroom. Besides, "But I thought this could be pretty hot? And we can scratch it off the list of places I want to have sex with you."_

 _"You have a list?"_

 _"I do."_

 _They were grinning at each other as the inevitable mauling took a backseat to some intense flirting._

 _"Tell me," Stephanie ordered playfully while trying not to let her burning cheeks glow too bright. Her blush was hidden when he gave a quick peck._

 _"First on the list…the bathroom…"_

 _More quick pecks accompanied by his hands bunching her dress around her waist._

 _"Second on the list…your old man's office down the hall…"_

 _Stephanie gasped and shoved at his chest. "Jerk." She would have laughed if not for the feel of his thumbs stroking over the thin band of her thong on either side of her hips. Instead her head absently fell forward until their lips were almost touching._

 _He hooked his thumbs around the lace of the thong and slowly pulled it down. He listened to her breathing and reveled in the way her chest heaved against his. "I want you so bad." The words were mumbled against her lips._

 _Rather than offer a response, Stephanie simply leaned forward and finally melded their lips together._

* * *

"You scrub up well, man."

Shane glanced at his buddy in the mirror, his hands absently running over the lapels of his suit jacket. The next time he wore it would be in the church waiting for Marissa. He couldn't wait. He let his eyes run over Paul behind him. Loathe as he was to admit it, Paul also scrubbed up pretty well in a monkey suit. Perhaps a little too well. This time his eyes glanced to his sister. She was sitting on the wingback chair next to the dressing area completely absorbed in her phone. At least she wasn't making goo goo eyes at Paul. It made for a nice change.

"It feels good, sir?"

Paul smiled at the tailor and nodded his head. "It feels great. The only thing I'm not fully certain on are the sleeves. What do you think?" He held out his arms and watched as the tailor took a few measurements and made a few notes.

"I'll personally make sure that this is ready for you when you come to collect."

"That's great. Thank you," Paul said as he shook the man's hand.

"When is the final collection date?"

All eyes turned to Stephanie. She smiled at her brother and smirked at Paul. She couldn't help it, not when he was practically leering at her.

Shane rolled his eyes and shimmied out of the suit jacket. That was it. Next time he saw it he would be getting married. "Thursday. It's your job to come and collect, Steph. Note it down."

This time it was Stephanie who rolled her eyes. "Anything else you need me to note down? Collect the suits, get Shane breakfast, do this, do that…"

"Yeah…" Shane trailed off slightly, waiting for Paul to disappear into the changing room before speaking up again. "Stay away from him."

"Ugh. Grow up Shane. We are perfectly capable of being around each other without…doing whatever the hell bad thing you think we're going to do."

"He's been back less than forty eight hours and you already slept with him!"

Deciding instead to ignore him, Stephanie went back to scrolling through her phone. She tried hard not to bite back but she simply couldn't do it. "Ok, what is your problem? It's your fucking wedding and all you seem to care about is Paul and I sleeping together."

Shane laughed; partly because he knew she wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut and partly because she just didn't get it. "I just don't want either of you getting hurt, especially not now."

"No one's going to get hurt, Shane. We're adults…"

"Yes, I know. You're adults. You know exactly what you're doing. Blah, blah, blah. I don't care if you two hook up and it starts shit in a weeks time, two weeks time, whenever! I do care about the fact that you are partners for the wedding, that you're here together and every time you're in the same place, shit happens! Ok? So please, spare me with the…."

"Where to next, guys?" Both McMahon children stopped mid-argument at the reappearance of the man in question. Paul dusted himself off and looked up to find brother and sister glaring at him. "What?"

"Nothing," Shane muttered.

"No! Tell him!"

"Steph…"

"No Shane. Tell him what crawled up your ass today. You sure as hell had no problem telling me."

Paul could sense that this was more than just normal sibling banter. "What's going on? Why are you guys fighting like this?"

"He's bitching because we're together," Stephanie blurted out without thinking. When she received two equally stunned faces as a response, her stomach dropped.

"You're together?"

"We're together?"

Both men spoke at the same time, the confusion in their tone mirroring the other. Stephanie wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. Why the hell did she say that? "Well not _together_ together…..you know what I mean!"

"Hold on a second here. What if I wanted to be together?"

Shane shook his head. He could feel his blood starting to boil. "No. No! We are not having this conversation right now."

Paul chuckled and held his hands up in surrender. "I'm kidding! Jesus Shane you need to chill out. You're getting married. This is supposed to be a fun time. Relax, man."

Stephanie was ready to strangle Paul for trying to start shit but was thankful when he let it go. Now was not the time for jokes.

 _You know he's not joking._

Ignoring that ever so annoying voice in her head, Stephanie playfully punched her brother in the shoulder. "Yeah, Shane. You need to relax."

Stephanie offered a reassuring smile to Shane.

Shane offered an apologetic nod to Paul.

And Paul stared longingly at Stephanie.

Of course it had been a joke.

Right?


End file.
